Submerged pipelines are usually installed either by dragging the pipe along the bottom (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,494), pulling the pipeline while maintained in a buoyant condition (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,849,997 and 4,107,933), or deploying the pipe from a conventional lay barge. Any procedure involving moving contact between the pipe and either the seabed or the handling equipment may be damaging to the pipe, particularly if coated with a material sensitive to abrasion damage; the last named method is expensive and not cost effective when laying relatively short lines.
The object of the invention is to provide a system for installing submerged pipelines by pulling them into the water from the shore while providing means for supporting them both during the pull and after installation so they do not touch the seabed while avoiding abrasive contact with any of the installing apparatus. In addition, where several lines are to be simultaneously installed, it is an object of the invention to permit them to be firmly gripped in predetermined mutually spaced side-by-side orientation for being simultaneously pulled to their final location.